Bridge the capability gap before the boomer brain-trust retires, by unlocking the power of a multi-generational and diverse workforce – starting today!
By: Yasmin Glanville and Darla Campbell
Unlocking competent, future-ready talent across your organization is more than an ideal. For businesses trying to grow in today’s disruptive environment, it is critical. And leadership continuity is all the more urgent in the face of the potential vacuum being created by the imminent retirement of a generation of experienced and capable leaders.
Paradoxically, however, many of the most talented new graduates and immigrants in the workforce have difficulty finding employment when the primary recruiting requirement is experience. Together, these two factors threaten to undermine future leadership competency in our most vital organizations.
The challenge for organizations now is to offer an environment that encourages younger employees to acquire the skills to become future leaders, while engaging the older generation to leverage their skills, experience and knowledge. In fact, according to the Boston Consulting Group’s Canadian Organization Practice Leader, Kilian Berz, finding talented, future leaders has become more difficult than raising financing.
“Finding talented, future leaders has become
more difficult than raising financing”
_Boston Consulting Group, Canada
Progressive boards and CEOs recognize this paradox. They take action by identifying and developing business competency requirements for new hires and emerging leaders via directed, mutually beneficial mentoring relationships with senior executives and relevant experts.
“Progressive companies are fast tracking
investments in hiring and developing
the right-fit talent of all generations!”
_RSI Inc.
To advance organizations’ readiness to thrive into the future, they need to tap into the collective brain power of all generations: Millennials, GenX, and Boomers. RSI’s directed engagement, development and mentoring process, called InterGEN, is designed for this purpose. It connects senior executives with new recruits in mutually beneficial mentoring relationships. The program is auditable and measurable. InterGEN benefits all parties: developmental benefits for mentees, intergenerational engagement and awareness for mentors, and organic capability development with improved rates of employee engagement and retention for the organization.
In summary: InterGEN is a powerful tool for unlocking the brainpower of all generations and advancing an organization’s leadership resilience and readiness to succeed.
For more information on transforming your organization, attend our InterGEN – Action Learning Accelerator, Sept 27th at the UofT Faculty Club. You’ll meet movers and shakers in an exciting, interactive environment that includes growth networking opportunities and dinner, wine and beer.
For more information about RSI and its leaders, visit: www.rethinksustainability.ca or contact Yasmin@Rethinksustainability.ca
- The next several decades will see transformational change in the Canadian job market. This seismic event is triggering an intergenerational gap between aging leaders and new workforce entrants.
- With nearly 24% of the population projected to be older than 65 by 2031, Generation Y (Millennials) will make up 50% of the workforce globally by 2020 (Source: Conference Board of Canada)
- According to the 2013 Sun Life Canadian Un-retirement Index, 25% of Canadians expect to work full time past the age of 66 because they are concerned about insufficient pension plans and outliving their savings.
- Numbering over 12 million Canadians, Generation Y comprises the largest demographic group since the Boomers. However, with high unemployment rates for youth, this generation finds it hard to gain the training needed to take on the leadership roles the Boomers will leave behind.
- As the most highly educated generation ever in Canada, Generation Y is struggling to find meaningful work. By 2011, 75.5% of Canadians under 30 had finished some form of post-secondary education, but many young adults find themselves taking low-skilled or clerical jobs.
- Some 6.4% of Canada’s total workforce—1.2 million people—now consists of part-time workers under 30 who wish they could work full time
RSI’s InterGEN Whitepaper provides further information on this issue.
About the Authors and RSI
RSI is an exchange for engaging and partnering with thought leaders, innovators and organizations to advance the sustainability and resiliency of businesses, institutions and communities to thrive into the future. Our exchange, through formal and informal discussions, publications and action learning accelerators, provides access to progressive leaders and actionable insights for Canadians and our global partners.
Yasmin Glanville is the Founder and Chair of RSI Inc.; Darla Campbell is an RSI Advisor.
